Salazar Riddle and the Necklace of Destiny
by Blizzard Rose
Summary: Sal's first adventureous year. What will happen? I only own some characters and plot. The rest is JK Rowling's


**Chapter 1- Off to School! Sal POV**

It was September the first of 2019 when I was finally off to Hogwarts! I walked to the ninth platform at King's Cross station and searched for the barrier that lead to the train. I found it and ran head first, and next I knew, I saw a red engine train on the platform. My mother and father walked beside me as I approached the train. I caught glimpses of my friends, Lily and Fred, by a door to a train compartment and went to say hi.

I smiled as they came in to view. I placed my trunk in the compartment with Fred's help and we talked excitedly about the year ahead of us. Fred and Lily were my best friends whom I'd known for as long as I can recall. Lily had dark hair and brown eyes. She looked like her mum a lot, while Fred was completely opposite. He resembled his dad loads more than his mum. He was tall, even for an eleven year old. His hair was flaming red and his eyes were a deep blue. What about me, I'm sure you're asking yourself, who am I? Well, let me explain. I am Salazar Merope Riddle, Sal for short. I am medium size for my age with jet black hair and brown eyes. I hate being called Sally and I prefer Sal instead. My mum and dad are Tom and Ginny Riddle. My dad says I look like Mum, but I act like him. I always laugh when he says that to me. Let's see, I am eleven years old and have a rounded face like my mum, uh that's about it. My first name comes from a founder of the very place I was off to. His name was Salazar too, you know, Salazar Slytherin. My middle name came from my paternal grandmother who died giving birth to my dad. My last name is my dad's Muggle relatives' last name. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you! I have a pet too. She is a snake (I know what you're thinking, but she is really harmless) named Lange. I took that name from part of the German word for serpent. She is the daughter of my dad's snake, Nagini. What is also cool is I can speak to Lange in Parsletounge. I said to my friends to board while I say goodbye to my parents as I walked toward them.

My mum hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. I hugged her back and said I'd write often. I hugged my dad and he said he'd be proud of me no matter what happened or where I was sorted. I told him to hug Nagini for me and I went to get on the train with my friends. As the train pulled away from the station, I sat down in my friends' compartment and put Lange in my lap after freeing her from her cage. Lily sat by me with her owl, Chouette, while Fred sat across from us. We chatted and laughed not noticing the countryside zipping by us at all. We had lunch, which consisted of sandwiches and pumpkin juice. We discussed the Sorting and where we hoped to be placed. "Gryffindor, is that even a question?" Fred said. Lily said Gryffindor would be nice but she didn't have a problem with Ravenclaw either. I said Slytherin was probably for me, but I wasn't ambitious. My dad was the Heir of Slytherin, but none the less, told me any House would be lucky to get me. My mum had been a Gryffindor at school, and like my dad, said she would be proud whatever happened. I loved them so much, they were really good people, I thought. They met through a diary when Mum was my age, can you believe it? I was brought out of my thought by Lily snapping her fingers in front of my face to get my attention, "Hello, Sal, anyone home?" I laughed and smiled apologetically. It was getting dark outside by now and I saw Lange asleep in my lap and stroked her head. I looked out the window watching the landscape change often due to the speed of the train. In the next second as it felt like, we stopped and I got off the train with my friends. There was someone standing by the train saying, "First years, over here!" and I followed the voice to find Hagrid, whom I'd met before several times, standing with a lantern in hand and motioning for the kids my size to follow. We climbed in to boats and of course, I got in one with Lily and Fred. Then a huge castle came in view as we sailed across the lake. It was the biggest place I'd ever seen! There were many lights coming from every side of the castle. I smiled and let out a "Whoa," before I could stop myself. Lily's brown eyes were wide in surprise as I'm sure mine were. Fred had a grin on his face. We sailed up to the castle, docked our boat and I jumped out. I had left my things on the train, so I didn't need to get anything from the boat. We trekked to the castle that was now our home. We were led into a room with massive doors at the end. I was told the Sorting would begin shortly and as I waited I played with my locket, twirling it in my fingers.

When we were allowed in the next room, it was very big as I expected. The sky looked like we were outside although we were indoors. That was a cool effect. In the center of the room, there was a stool with a hat on it. I'd heard about this hat, it was the Sorting Hat! It said what House you would belong to at Hogwarts. We lined up and waited for our names to be called and we watched our classmates get sorted. The most people so far went to Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. I didn't mind where I'd be put, so I waited, feeling at ease. Lily became a Ravenclaw and I clapped as she went to sit down. She winked at me and I listened for my name to be called. I heard, "Riddle, Salazar," called I stepped forward and sat on the stool. The Hat drooped over my eyes and it whispered in my ear. "Salazar? Hmm, could you be named after the great Slytherin, my dear?" I nodded. "Interesting, I see no ambition at all, so I know you're a RAVENCLAW!" I smiled and took off the Hat and put it back as I went to join Lily. We smiled at one another and slapped hands. Fred was up now. We watched and heard the Hat speaking to him. We smiled in his direction, and he smiled back. The Hat declared our friend a Gryffindor and we clapped as he sat down at the table next to ours. We waited while the Hat was taken away and we all sat in silence. Food appeared on the golden plates. I saw loads of stuff I loved: steak, pork, and chicken, potatoes of every cooked variety, beans, pineapple, grapes and raspberries. We each took our favorites and ate them gratefully. I exchanged a few comments with Lily and a girl I just met called Courtney. We all hoped we'd share a dorm together at our House tower. We listened to the start of term announcements and then were sent off to bed. The older kids led us to a door with an eagle on it. It asked for a password and the leader told us it was Rowena. We entered a cozy looking room with tables and chairs with a huge fireplace by the west wall. We were told where our dorms were and how to get there. Courtney, Lily and I shared a dorm, just as we'd hoped. I found all my possessions including Lange on top of my suitcase. Courtney asked if Lange was harmless and I said yes. She reached out to touch Lange's head and smiled. I was about to drop dead from tiredness, so we all decided to get some sleep. The lights cut off and it wasn't long until I was fast asleep.

I awoke to the bright light streaming from a window. I found a clock on a wall that declared it seven thirty. I rose and Lily and Courtney did too. I threw on my robes, collected my things and before leaving asked Lange, "Will you be all right until I come back?" Her head bobbed a nod and she replied, "Yes. You go have a great day, Salazar." I thanked her, stroked her head once, and headed to the Great Hall (the room which I was Sorted in) to eat breakfast. When I arrived, Courtney and Lily had saved a place for me. I sat down and filled my plate with all my favorite breakfast foods. At that moment, owls that belonged to the school swept in and handed us our time tables. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor Houses had classes together this year. Yes! That meant we had classes with Fred. We told Courtney about Fred and how he was our friend for as long as we could remember. She seemed eager to meet him, and we said we'd introduce her after classes. My time table declared we had Charms, Flying and Defense today. I was looking forward to Flying a lot. After we'd finished our food, we went to find the Charms room. It was easy to spot with a map in hand. Once inside, we chose seats in the second row. I had heard from Mum that Flitwick was really cool and nice. He also was our head of House, too. We talked about what we'd be learning this year and the class policies. Charms sounded as if it was going to be fun! The same went for Defense, we talked about what we'd study and made sure we had what we needed (I.e. textbook and wand). My wand was made from yew and was eight and three quarter inches long. Finally, we headed outside to Flying. Sadly, first years couldn't bring their own brooms to school, but ah well. I got a new looking school broom. Madam Hooch said to step up to the broom, place our hand over it and say, "Up." I did so and it came to me after just two tries. When all brooms were off the ground, we mounted them and waited for the whistle to blow. That was the signal for when we were to kick off the ground and launch into the air. When the signal was given, I kicked and was launched to the air. I hovered for a moment, and then leaned forward and with the lightest touch, my broom inclined downwards. I planted my feet on the ground and dismounted. Madam Hooch was impressed and gave our House ten points. I smiled and met up with Lily, Fred and Courtney as we headed to dinner already. Wow, days go by fast!

**Chapter 2- The Best Week Ever! Lily POV**

I walked by my friends to the Great Hall for my second dinner at Hogwarts. Today had been so awesome, but had gone by so quick! Gosh, before I know it, I'll be a seventh year. Sal, Fred and my new friend Courtney walked beside me. Courtney has light brown hair and is Sal and my size. She is really cool and she is sweet. Sal and I have her in our dorm. She is half blooded as we all are. My dad is the famous Harry Potter and my mum is Hermione Potter. I look more like Mum than Dad, or so I've been told. My hair is dark but lighter than Sal's. My eyes are big and brown and I'm average size for an eleven year old girl. I'm named after my dad's mum who was killed by a Dark Wizard. My middle name comes from sort of a version of my mum's middle name, Jean, only mine is Jane. My best friend is Sal. We've known each other maybe even before we were born. Ok, maybe not that long but still! Same with Fred, too. We'd all been really good friends as kids. We entered the Hall and Fred went to sit at his House's table. I sat down with Sal and Courtney. I made the guess that about in a week, I'd be able to rip up the map and walk here mindlessly. Again, food appeared on the plates and we began to eat. We had no homework, so we were free to talk in the common room after dinner.

We all gathered by the fireplace. Sal spread herself out on the floor and Courtney and I sat in two armchairs. We talked about our personal histories and what we liked and hated, who we'd met and where we'd traveled to in life. It was very interesting to hear Courtney's stories and I'd actually forgotten some of Sal's stories that hadn't been told in a while! Courtney had a little brother named Chris who would come here in our fourth year. I said that I was an only kid in my house and Sal did too. Fred like us was the only kid in his family. We were 'friends made in heaven' our parents often joked. We stayed up a little later than last night, because we'd gotten to bed at twelve thirty that night. We changed to our pajamas and went up to our dorm and talked and giggled in our beds. Mine was closest to the door while Courtney's was in sort of the middle and Sal's was by a window. I had Chouette by my bed perched on a table. I reached under my bed and dug out the bag of owl treats I'd brought for her. She nipped at my fingers affectionately and flew to the school's Owlrey. We all yawned and Sal cut off the lights for us and we all slept undisturbed.

I awoke to someone shaking me. I rubbed my eyes and heard Sal say, "Get up Lily! It's time to rise and shine!" I looked at her when my eyes finally adjusted. She was fully dressed with her hair braided and her bag over her shoulder. I told her to go on and I'd meet her there. I put on my robes, brushed my hair and teeth, gathered my things and headed out the door. The Hall had the smell of breakfast when I entered and saw Sal and Courtney wave. I went to join them and as I sat down I winked at Fred. We ate and talked about if we thought the map was needed today. We agreed to use it until we were absolutely sure we knew Hogwarts like the back of our hands. Again, kidding, but we still were to use a map for a while. Sigh, I will never be as good of a jokester as Fred. Actually to be honest, it's the timing of his jokes that make them hilarious. They come at the most random moments when you least expect them. Classes for today were Herbology, Transfiguration and Astronomy tonight! Astronomy was where you look out in the sky and identify planets, stars and other cool space stuff. I'd always loved to look out in the sky. We headed to classes and lunch after. Since Astronomy was later tonight we got the afternoon off, so we decided to go hang outside. We sat in the grass and I introduced Fred and Courtney formally as I'd promised. "Fred Weasley the second," he said holding out his hand. She shook it and replied, "Nice to meet you. I'm Courtney Rose" He smiled and they let go of the other's hand. Sal had her eyes closed and looked as if she was enjoying the sun. I said, "Salazar Merope Riddle, what are you doing?" She smiled and answered, "Enjoying the sun, Lily Jane Potter. You should try it." I lay next to her and closed my own eyes. She was right, it did feel nice. I like sunny and hot days in the year. I don't know why, but I prefer them. Gosh, I love it here. I can't believe we get to spend seven school years here. That reminded me of something I wanted to do. I pulled out parchment, a quill and a book to hold the parchment down while I wrote. My letter went around the lines of this:

_Mum and Dad,_

_Everything here is great! We have our first Astronomy class tonight. I'm super excited for it. I am in Ravenclaw with Sal and my new friend Courtney. Fred is in Gryffindor, like you guys were. We still see him lots though, because we have classes with his House. How are you guys doing? I miss you and will write soon. I'm going to enjoy the sun now, bye!_

_Love from,_

_Lily_

When my letter satisfied me, I put it in my bag to give to Chouette to carry to my house. I rejoined my friends in talking and enjoying the rays. The bell that signaled dinner rang and we headed to the castle to get some food.

**Chapter 3- Repetition, but Never Boring. Fred POV**

I walked beside my partners in crime to the Hall. I sit at the Gryffindor table while they sit at the table next to ours. I take a seat next to my roommates, Henry and Luke, at the table. We'd become friends in the three days here. Henry had short curly hair while Luke's was in a buzz cut. It's nice to finally have some guy friends. Now don't get me wrong here! Sal and Lily are awesome, but a guy just needs some guy time, right? Time like when I can watch Quidditch with people who can understand the game. I swear, sometimes Sal and Lily will surely be the death of me with all their girl talk and what not.

Sorry if I haven't explained myself yet. I'm Fred Ronald Weasley. I am named for my uncle Fred who owns Weasley's Wizard Wheezes with my other uncle George. The shop has like prank stuff in it and is in Diagon Alley. What is that you say, you've heard of it? Well, get off your couch and go there while the sale is still in effect! Only, joking, you pay full price. Where was I? Oh, my name origins, gotcha. My middle name is Ronald after my father. I look like Dad and my Uncle Fred the most. It's kind of ironic that I resemble my namesakes the most, huh?

After we'd eaten the Hall clear out of food, we headed for the portrait of the Fat Lady. That was the entrance to our common room. I sat down by the fire to start on my homework. God, where was Sal or Lily when you needed them? Oh, yeah, in smart old Ravenclaw! Ugh, why oh why aren't they in Gryffindor? Why oh why great Sorting Hat? I mean, I still see them, but it would be nice to be in the same House, but there was no way on this planet I'd be sorted to Ravenclaw. I'm more of the action type person, not the studious type. I checked a clock on the wall. Eight thirty, you know what? I'm going to do this later. I need a break from all the work. I seriously think my brain is melting. So, I'm now outside the common room. I'm going to go looking for my friends. If only I had a cell phone. Luckily enough for me, no phone was required. I found Sal sitting on a bench with Lily near the bottom of the staircase. I approached them and Sal said, "Sup Freddy, get all the homework done?" I laughed and replied, "Yeah. Then I invented the Firebolt and discovered the thirteenth use of dragon's blood." We all burst out laughing and Sal smacked me on the back of the head. "Oh look who made a joke. You know, you should be a standup comedian." I nodded. "Yeah, uncles Fred and George would be proud." Sal shook her head playfully, 'Fred, what the devil are we going to do with you?" I put on a mock quizzical look, "No idea. I'm warning you, though. If you dispose of me now, who will annoy the crud out of you?" Lily smiled, "Good point. We'll keep you around, for now at least." She winked at me. "Why are you winking at me?" I wondered. "You're killing the vibe. And it's dead!" I shook my head in amusement. Girls, again they'll be the death of me.

Astronomy was really fun. We looked at the sky with our telescopes and took notes on what we saw. I saw the moon and maybe Venus or Mars, I don't know which one, though. I joked to Lily that I'd seen a comet heading straight for us. That got me another smack on the back of the head and one of Lily's evil glares. By the end of class, it appeared as if I'd been forgiven. I was grateful for that. Between Sal's smacks and Lily's glares, I'd take the smacks any day of my life. But the key is to recall that we stick together through thick and thin I fell asleep almost instantly when we returned to the dorm. The good news was that tomorrow was Saturday, my first weekend here. I settled in for a nice ten hours of sleep which came easily to me and before I knew it, I was out like a light.

**Chapter 4- Weekend Fun! Sal POV**

I awoke in my dorm on Saturday at nine ten AM. I'd gotten as much sleep as I needed and was ready to go! Lange was still curled up in her cage asleep. I tried to be as quiet as possible getting ready and leaving my dorm. Today I wanted to write my parents a letter explaining the eventful week. I put that on my mental to do list and I also wanted to ask Lily if Chouette was up for a journey. I decided to pull my hair back today and as usual, my locket hung from my neck. Dad once said that this belonged to my ancestor Salazar Slytherin. I'd wondered all my life about the other Salazar and what he was like. My friends welcomed me to the table and we discussed possible plans for today. We had all our work done and were free to spend our day however we pleased. We could spend the day reading, but then again, it was way too nice. Ooh, idea! How about reading outside? I thought that Lily was still mad at Fred for last night, but they seemed to speak to one another with no glares. That made my life a whole lot simpler. When Lily and Fred were mad at one another, it usually went on for days. It got to the point when I wanted to start slamming my head on a table. I'm usually not masochistic, but case this severe well, yeah. All right, reading outside was the plan! Now my problem was what to read. I had a copy of _Tales of Beedle the Bard_, a selection of stories, in my bag, still never unpacked. I needed to get it from my bag. If only there was a spell that could summon things. Well, I think there was, but it was like fourth year level. Only three years to go until we're taught it. Three years!

I dragged my body to my dorm, got my trunk and rummaged for the book. Ah, here it is! I scrammed back down to my friends and we ventured outside. There was a nice sunny spot on the back of the grounds that we chose. We sat down and read until Fred met us outside. I put my bookmark in my place and looked up as he sat down. Courtney, I and even Lily smiled. I remembered my letter idea when I looked up in the sky filled with birds. I asked, "Hey, Lily, do you mind if I borrow Chouette to carry a letter?" She smiled, 'She could use a good long trip." I smiled and pulled out my quill, parchment and ink bottle and scrawled:

Mum_ and Dad_

Everything is awesome! Classes are going good. So far, my favorite is Astronomy. Lange is doing fine, but do you mind sending more treats in your reply? I'm running low. How are things there? Is Nagini missing me and Lange? I apologize for not writing any sooner, but the week's been extremely busy. Hogwarts is huge. I'm sure I'll be in seventh year before memorizing it all!

I'm in Ravenclaw with Lily. Being sorted was brilliant. The hat actually reads your mind in a way. Fred is a Gryffindor like his dad and you, Mum. Lily and I share a dorm with a girl named Courtney Rose. She is cool and we like a lot of the same things. I'm going brain-dead mow, so I'll write again next week or if I don't it'll be soon.

I miss you (including you Nagini if you're reading this),

Sal

Hmm, detailed enough. Mum told me she wanted details and she got the all right. I scanned my letter than called Chouette over. She held out her leg and I told her, 'Tom and Ginny Riddle," and she leapt gracefully into the air, soaring above the trees and out of sight in mere seconds. Check that off my list. I looked at Lily and smiled. Courtney was looking at my locket with interest. "How did you get such a cool necklace?" she asked me wistfully. I replied, "It was my grandmother's. My dad says it belonged to my ancestor Salazar Slytherin." She had an expression of awe on her face and I took it off and put it around her neck. She smiled and studied the serpentine _S_ on the front. She took it off and handed it to me again. I put it back on my neck. Lily was braiding her hair now. I sat behind her and helped her twirl it in to the perfect braid. When I put the braid in a ponytail holder, Lily decided to put mine in a bun. I did Courtney's hair in awesome pigtails. Fred let out a loud and fake sigh. I looked at him, "We're girls, what did you expect? Us talking about Quidditch" He shook his head, 'I really need to start hanging around guys more often," The sun shine felt warm on my skin. I checked my watch I'd put on this morning and it said 3:34. Fred stood up and told us he had some work he had to finish and that he'd see us later. I pulled out _Tales of Beedle the Bard_ and began to read where I left off. I'd been reading one of my favorite stories; the one about three witches and a hapless knight are on a quest to find the Fountain of Fair Fortune in its enchanted garden. Once a year, one unfortunate person is given the chance to find the Fountain and bathe in it, thereby gaining good fortune forever. The four travelers decide to help each other on through the garden and discover along the way that in doing so they help each one overcome their unfortunate circumstances. They leave the garden happily together. That one had been my favorite from the time I was three. My dad had read the stories to me every night before I went to sleep until I was six, then I read them on my own. It must seem silly that an eleven year old still likes this kind of thing, but the story has a great plot and life lesson. I was now at the part where the unfortunate person of that year found the fountain. I can get so into reading, I can forget where I was. I finished reading and checked the watch. It was now fifth hour of the afternoon. I closed the volume and rose with my buds to head back to the Hall.

**Chapter 5- Second Week Already, Wow! Lily POV**

We walked in to the Hall after a nice day of reading outside. I had my mind on my work, going through a mental checklist to make sure I'd done it all. The only downside to tomorrow was that it was Monday and even in my homeschooling for the past eight years, I never looked forward to Mondays. I loved the braid Sal had done in my hair earlier. I was going to ask her to do the braid again tomorrow. I caught sight of Fred at his House's table and he winked at me when I gave him a thumbs-up. I turned to all the food on my plate and began to eat. Delicious as ever! Let's see what my time table says as far as which classes we have. Monday was Charms, Flying and History of Magic all with Gryffindor house. I was really interested in Charms. Some of the things we learned were really cool, like the Levitating Charm we were practicing. All you had to do was say "Wingardium Leviosa" and the object would rise in to the air. We tried with a feather first and now we were on levitating books. That wasn't very hard for me. Sal was good at it too, although on her first try with the book, it had accidentally fallen and had hit her head. After that, she mastered the book. She even laughed about the book incident. History of Magic was very boring and there were too many people and dates to keep up with. My dad Harry was mentioned once and all the eyes in the room flickered to my face. Flying was all right and I wasn't horrible at it, I noticed with relief. Apparently, I'd gotten some skill from my dad in the Flying field. I'd gotten my mum's brains like everyone told me.

Classes zoom by, just like the days. Before I knew it, I was sitting by Sal in Charms. We were practicing our wand waving and the Levitating Charm. We were going to start the Cheering Charm. Fred could use that every once and a while. Just kidding Fred, I love you! Like a friend I mean, or maybe more like a sibling. Lunch came and I saved some bread for Chouette to eat later. She likes all kind of breads. She even got Lange to eat bread. I loved Lange, she was so cool. I remember when she was born a year ago. She was so small! Most people are scared of snakes but not me. That's because I grew up around Nagini when I was over at Sal's house. Nagini loves to slither around people's feet and Lange does too. I asked Sal about that when I was nine and she told me that it was how they showed affection.

I headed to the common room with my friends and set the bag of bread on my bed to give Chouette and Lange later. At the same moment, Chouette flew to my shoulder with a letter on her leg. My mum's scrawl was what I saw. I untied, opened and read her reply.

Dear Lily,

Things are going well here. Your father just got back from an Auror conference. He said to tell you congratulations on being sorted to Ravenclaw. We are so very proud of you.. We hope Sal is doing well and I'm glad that you've made a new friend. Maybe I could arrange for her and Sal and you to spend Christmas at our house. Will you ask her? If she says yes, I'll call her mum and arrange things. How is Fred? Is he in Gryffindor as he wanted to be? How do you like Hogwarts? Reply soon sweetie.

We love you

I smiled and stroked Chouette's feathers. She was a black owl about the size of Hedwig. I'd gotten her for an eleventh birthday present from my parents. Chouette had dark eyes like I did. Sal was next to me doodling on a piece of parchment. She was trying to draw the castle. It was really good, actually. She was now outlining what I thought to be the Astronomy tower and the sub levels beneath it. I took a piece of parchment and began to draw a portrait of Courtney, man we were all feeling very artsy today! I was now on getting her hair perfect. It came to about her waist, so I drew it that long. I had to admit that Sal was defiantly the better artist. I was the one with logic on my side here. That was also like Mum. She'd been the one with reason of the Golden Trio. I never really understood why they were called that. I'd heard all the tales of their adventures, sure, but it still makes no sense. Maybe I'm just mental and fail to see the point here. I went back to my doodle. To tell the truth, it looked more like a stick person than it did Courtney. I showed her, but she just laughed with me. Sal was still holding the quill like she'd break it. She must really want this to be perfect. We all laughed and laughed.

Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months. Time seemed to be on light speed. September faded and October sped by. Today was the thirtieth day of October. The Halloween feast was tomorrow at dinner. I liked Halloween because it was the one time of year you could load up on candy and not be told how much you were allowed to eat. I used to go trick or treating with Sal and Fred when we were little. It was all very much fun. Hey, even wizards and witches like candy. We used to get all the Chocolate Frogs and Every Flavor Beans our hearts desired. Well I need to go eat now, so catch you on the flip side!

**Chapter 6- Hiss! Lange POV**

Hello humans reading this. You must already know about my mistress, Salazar, if you've been reading. I am her companion and I am indeed a snake. No need to fear me, little children. I do not bite or attack unless Mistress Salazar tells me otherwise. I am a long, green female serpent. I am the daughter of my mistress's father's snake. My mother is called Nagini. She looks like me only I am smaller than her. I was given to my mistress as a birthday present three years ago. That was her eighth birthday, correct? I do not understand how humans measure time just yet, but I am trying. I am now at school for humans called Hogwarts. Mistress Salazar seems to enjoy her time here it seems to me. She is a very kind person my Mistress. She always remembers my birthdays and gives me treats and I comfort her when she is upset. I slither around her ankles and she strokes my head. She is able to communicate with me via Parsletounge, which is my native tongue.

Mistress walks to my cage and lets me out to sit on her lap. She is telling me of her nice dinner she had. Apparently there was some sort of feast in honor of a human holiday called Halloween. She un wraps a bag and there is some of my favorite bread inside. I rest my head on her shoulder to show appreciation. She puts the bread in my cage for now. I look around the big dorm in which Mistress Salazar lives. She has very nice friend who also live here with her. Miss Lily I'd known for as long as I'd know Mistress Salazar. They were friends and they had another friend, Mr. Fred. There was also a new girl that Mistress had just met, Miss Courtney. She reminded me of Mistress a lot because she was kind and she seemed to be a quick thinker. I'm sorry to cut this chapter short, reader, but my snake instincts tell me I need sleep. I will be back in a while. Remember, hiss!

**Chapter 7- Time flies, since when? Fred POV**

I must be going mental. It's already November. November, mind you! It had been two whole months since my first day of school. Sal's birthday was in eleven days. Today is the first of the month and her birthday is on the twelfth. I still haven't gotten her anything, what am I to do? I know! I'll contact Mum and ask her to purchase the gift I chose and send it by owl. Now the real question was what does Sal want for presents? Mental note: talk to Lily and ask her. She's a little closer to Sal than I am because she's a girl. Do you think she'd like some merchandise from my uncles' shop? All right that's crossed off the list. She already had a necklace, so that's a no go. How about a ring with an S on it? Nah, it would seem to lovey-dovey coming from me. I did love her, though she didn't know. As far as I was concerned she'd never find out. Her hair the color of the night sky, eyes like chocolate- wait, NO! Shut up voice! But she was so smart and funny and caring. Ugh, love is complicated! Ok, I've got it, the perfect present and it would still mask my true feelings for Sal: a book on Salazar Slytherin! She was always interested in finding out more about him, was she not? The only problem was, I wasn't sure that they had a book on just him. I knew he was mentioned in _Hogwarts: a History_, but in maybe two chapters at maximum. Surely though, there might be a book on just him at Flourish and Blotts. I mean they had all kinds of books as I'd seen there to buy my spell books for school in August.

That was the gift that I was going with. It was perfect. I would write Mum to ask her to look up and see if there was such a book. What if there wasn't though? What was my back up present? Maybe a scrapbook to place photos in of Hogwarts and the people here. I knew that there were scrapbooks at the store so it seemed like a good plan. I found a sheet of parchment that I hadn't used and began to scribble a letter to Mum explaining about the gift and possibly the backup one. I wrote quickly, part of the reason was because class two for the day started in fifteen minutes and I wanted to get there on time. At Hogwarts, you needed at least fifteen minutes to find a class and make sure it was the one you were supposed to be in. I finished writing and jumped up from the chair I'd been occupying and gathered my things and hurried off. If I was lucky, I could talk to Lily a bit before class and tell her about the present. As I was just turning the corner my wish came true. Lily was there sans Sal and Courtney. She explained that she'd told them to go to class and she had business to take care of (birthday plans and gifts). She was planning on getting Sal a wand polishing kit. That seemed like a good present because wands get fingerprints and other crud all over them in many years of usage. She had her present already here under her bead in a box that was wrapped. Why is she always one step ahead of me?

It turns out that there actually was a book on Slytherin. It was called _Slytherin: Greatest of the Hogwarts Four_. The book arrived at breakfast on the seventh, thank goodness. I was half afraid that it would come too late. I was thankful at this moment not to be in the same Houses as Sal, or else she'd see the present. When a post owl dropped it in my hands, it was already wrapped and there was a card attached. I scrawled a quick note in the card and set off to store the box under my bed. I got to the dorm five minutes later to find Henry and Luke inside. Today was a Saturday so there weren't classes. They were lounging on their beds as I came in with the box to hide it. They asked what it was for and I told them that Sal's birthday was next week. They nodded and told me to tell her 'happy early birthday'. I said it was a can do. I went looking for Lily afterwards to update her on the present. I found her on a bench outside near the Great Hall. She said we needed a cake and to have like a small party. I agreed and inquired as to where this 'party' would take place. "I've got it all worked out. We need to ask the house elves who cook to bake a cake and then we need to find a place fit for a party. I was thinking maybe one of the gazebos out here that way," she motioned to the right of us. I had no idea where she was talking about. She also showed me a plastic crown she'd gotten for Sal to wear to the party (a surprise one, of course). She had invited Courtney, Henry, Luke, a girl named Claire who was in Hufflepuff and us. Before I had a chance to even ask she told me she, Sal and Claire met at a playground when they were seven. I must have missed the occasion. Now the only thing was the cake. How were we going to sneak to the kitchens? Lily asked me if I remembered her dad's Invisibility Cloak. "Yeah I do. What about it?" She reached for something in her bag. It looked like silver fabric and oddly familiar. 'No way! How'd you manage to nick it?" She explained that she had also written to explain the birthday situation to her parents and her dad had lent her his Cloak.

The cake operation was a success. The elves said it would be out in the gazebo at five thirty on Wednesday. Everything was set. All the guests were coming to the party and Sal had no clue we were throwing one. We decided to tell her that we're starting a book club and to be at the gazebo at five thirty on Wednesday. She agreed happily and was not suspicious at all.

**Chapter 8- It's MY Day Today! Sal POV**

I woke up at my usual time of seven thirty on Wednesday. I stretched and got up from my bed. I found a letter at the foot of my bed. I opened the envelope carefully and pulled out the piece of parchment inside. It read: _Salazar Merope Riddle, head to breakfast and you will find many things waiting for you. Also don't forget about the book club meeting at five thirty tonight in gazebo 2. Have a wonderful day and happy twelfth._ The note was not signed and I placed it in my pocket. I changed into my day robes and combed my hair before going to the Hall like the note instructed, I was greeted by Lily, Fred and Courtney when I entered the Hall. Lily steered me to a seat at our House table. There were many wrapped packages in front of where I sat. My friends sat beside me (although I had no clue how Fred didn't get caught sitting here) Lily took the chair to the right of me and handed me a box and card. This was from my parents. I read the card and carefully tore off the paper on the box. I opened it to find a nice scrap book with a few pictures from my younger days already inside. I handed the present and card to Courtney as Lily handed me the next one. This one was from Fred. I lifted the box's lid to find a book inside! I took it in my hands and read the title; _Slytherin: Greatest of the Hogwarts Four_. Oh, wow, just what I wanted! I hugged Fred and thanked him. This would be an interesting read. Next came Lily's present of a wand care kit, another wonderful gift. I hugged her as well. The last gift was from Courtney. I told her earlier that she didn't need to get me something but she insisted. I tore off the paper and lifted the lid. Inside there was a Put-Outer like the one Fred's dad had. A Put-Outer was a very useful device that could turn off and on lights with one click. I thanked them all again for my awesome gifts and said that this was the best day ever. The bell rang, signaling time to get to class. We all got up and left and Lily snapped for a house elf to take my gifts to my dorm for me.

The day progressed with many "Hi Sal" and "Happy birthday's "as I walked from class to class. The creepy part was that these were mostly older kids that I had no clue who they were. How did they know who I was? Maybe one of my friends had let it slip that it was my birthday today. I smiled and thanked them for their birthday wishes. Lunch went by in the same fashion, people coming up to me and saying hi. Some of the older kids I did recognize due to the fact of them being fellow Ravenclaws. Even some people from Slytherin came over to where I was sitting. Later, Fred carried my bag for me even when I insisted that it wasn't heavy. After the bell signaling the end of classes rang, I went to the common room to drop off my school things. My presents were on my bed and there was another one still wrapped. I picked that one up and I knew it was from Lange because there was no card. Inside the box were Chocolate Frogs. Those were my favorite! I told Lange thanks in Parsletounge and put the lid back on the box. I skipped outside to look for my friends. They were not anywhere in sight. I checked my watch. Five twenty seven, that's why. I ran towards the gazebo. Magical gazebos had doors and were more like indoor Muggle patios I reached the second one. The lights were off and I was thinking about turning back, but instead I opened the door. It was unlocked, so I stared inside. Out of nowhere, the lights cut on and six people shouted, "SURPRISE!" I looked around and sure enough there was a table with a giant chocolate cake and food on it. Wizard rock was playing from a stereo in a corner. I went over to Lily who placed a crown on my head. I giggle and I smile at Fred. He winks and we walk over to talk to people. I recognized Claire, a Hufflepuff and two other guys who Fred knows. I think their names are Henry and Luke. Yeah, that's it! The party continued and we even had a cake. I wonder what strings Fred pulled to get it. We left at seven thirty to go to the common room. Courtney is drawing and Lily is reading a book on history. I pick up my Slytherin book and start to read. I hadn't the slightest idea of the time when Lily was dragging me to the dorm. I put a bookmark in my book and lay down. Within a second I was in a deep sleep. I dreamed of myself older and graduating Hogwarts. It was a nice dream.

**Chapter 9- Thanksgiving! Lily POV**

The third week of the month was Thanksgiving break. We were given a whole week without classes. Some people went home to visit their parents, but Sal, Fred, Courtney and I all stayed. It was going to be like a really long slumber party every night. We would all stay up and giggle until who knows when. We would share funny stories and gossip and take pictures. Even do each other's hair. It was the Friday before that week after classes when we glimpsed some students lining up at the door to be led to the train station in Hogsmeade. There were kids from every house and year going home. I couldn't blame them for wanting to visit their parents but a week was too short to do so in my opinion.

Sal, Courtney and I met Fred by the Hall doors. Luke and Henry had decided to go home for the holiday. Claire had gone as well. We all sat down at our designated tables, which seemed vacant. Only maybe one fifth of our House was at the table. I wondered if all their friends had gone home. I felt glad that my friends had stayed. Who would I talk to if they didn't? We ate and a few announcements were made and then we trekked back to the common room after parting with Fred. I sat in an armchair, Sal and Courtney sat on the couch next to me. "So girls what should we do tonight/' Sal inquired cheerfully. I shrugged, "Anyone got any ideas? I've never had a whole week's vacation in a place as huge as this." Courtney suggested reading outside and taking pictures or videos commemorating our time here. I was up for that. I had gotten a camera from Sal for my last birthday. This would be good times to use it for sure.

When we got upstairs I snapped a photo of the dorm and my bed. I then took pictures of Sal with Courtney and asked Sal to take one of her and me. She made a funny face and had thumbs up sign in the picture. We laughed and she took a picture of Sal and me. I need to ask someone for the spell that makes the pictures move. That would be too cool! Just at that minute, Chouette flew in with a package obviously for me. I took it in my hands and kept turning it over. The return address was from my house so it was from Mum and Dad. What was it though? Oh, bugger, I'd probably forgotten something. Curse you long term memory! I tore off the paper and lifted the lid off of the box. Inside was a box of owl treats for Chouette and what looked like a wand care kit for me like I'd gotten Sal for her birthday. Inside the box was a letter that read;

Dear Lily,

Here is a box of owl treats for Chouette. We also bought you a wand care kit since we thought it was handy to have. How is everyone these days? Did Sal have a good birthday? Tell her we send her belated birthday wishes. How's Fred? All of us adults had lunch a few days ago at the Leaky Cauldron. Hedwig misses you and she was delighted to see Chouette come with your last letter.

Send us pictures of your first Thanksgiving at school. When I was there, there was always a very large feast at dinner. We hope you enjoy it and remember to ask Courtney about Christmas. I've cleared everything with Sal's mum.

Love from, Mum, Dad and Hedwig

Well that was awesome that Sal was cleared for coming over for the holidays. I'd have to make a note of asking Courtney and sending a reply to Mum once we got her parents' letter back. I shared the good news with my friends and Courtney scribbled a letter to her parents to ask them.

The rest of the week was uneventful but still very fun. We all sighed on Monday morning because it was back to classes. My camera had gotten a good usage in this last week, though. I'd need to develop the film and send them via Chouette to my parents.

**Chapter 10- Finally something happens. Fred POV**

It was the week after the brief Thanksgiving holiday when something rather odd started to happen. There were whispers going around the school about an enchanted necklace. The necklace was said to make the wearer indestructible. Yeah, right! I mean c'mon how thick is that? Sal told me the story one day while we were lounging on the grounds. I snickered as she told me. Who would honestly fall for this?

Apparently this must be a joke by some older blokes to scare the crud out of us tiny, innocent first years. There's nothing like a fake myth to keep one up at night. Henry and Luke both scoffed at the story as I did. We would stay up late and discuss fake possibilities with the necklace. I mean how can a necklace be all powerful? Most of the student body seemed to take in this story. Again, two words: thick heads. The days progressed and still more whispers. I was seriously going to hex the next person who talked about it. Well maybe not Sal. Ugh how many times have I told you internal voice, zip it! Sal is a friend; I love her like my sister. Oh who am I fooling? I'M IN LOVE WITH SALAZAR RIDDLE!! There, happy? Well good, so shut it and don't goad me to say it again. I wonder how she feels about me. I doubt she loves me like that. I bet she loves me like a brother.

I go through my days like usual. Classes are the same: work, teaching and homework. I look at the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall on occasion hoping to see her look at me. All right enough of my feelings for now. So anyways where I was before my internal feelings took me over? The necklace story had taken in most of everybody. If this was actually going on I'd pay someone a hundred Galleons. I must be losing my mind, I have no other explanation I travel back to the common room hoping to get some homework done so I wouldn't have to do it later. I start working on my planet and star chart for Astronomy that is due tomorrow night. I got bored half way through and put the book away and exit the common room. I walk down the castle halls and try to find my friends if they're here. I stop by a closed door that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Should I go in? What the heck, what's to lose?

I open the wooden doors carefully and take a small step forward. This room seems to have all sorts of hidden things here. There is a cabinet, a tiara, a book and suddenly something catches my eye. In a glass case, there is an opal necklace. I knew in every vein of my body that this was the necklace. A tiny voice crept into my mind telling me to run. Now. I ignored the voice and took another step. The room had other things too and I guessed that this was a room off limits to students. But still, I can't believe that the legends I'd scoffed at earlier were now right in front of me. Smack dab in the face. I kicked myself for not realizing this before now. Should I tell Sal and Lily? Well on one hand, I hate to keep secrets from them. I rarely keep something from them. But on the other hand, if somehow we don't survive whatever may come it would be my entire fault if they died. Especially if _she_ died or got hurt. I'd never forgive myself if I was indirectly part of her death. I exit the room conflicted.

**Chapter 11- What?! You're joking. Sal POV**

November faded to December and it wasn't long until snow began to fall. Snowfall was extremely beautiful here. I loved snow and loved to play in it as a child back home. I loved to watch the flakes fall from my window every night before going to sleep. It was as magical as Hogwarts itself. I started to pack away my clothes I needed for my trip to Lily's house in two and a half weeks. Our house's head came around to collect names of those staying over winter holiday. Claire told us she was staying since her parents were voyaging to Italy for holiday. I began to wear my scarf and hat that had Ravenclaw colors on it. I also was sent boots with snow and ice proof soles in them by my parents. They were a great help and there was no fear of slipping on the icy stairs and humiliating (and hurting) myself. The fireplaces were now being used all over the castle instead of just the ones in each common room. It soon got too cold to relax outside and we resorted to hang out in the library. I was done with my book on Slytherin already and I was now reading _Hogwarts: A History_. It had some information on Slytherin but not as much as my book did. The book explained the history of the school and all the famous witches and wizard who attended and all the Muggle repelling charms placed on the school. Did you know that if a Muggle looked at Hogwarts they'd see a dangerous ruin and not a glorious castle? Weird how they place all these protection enchantments on the place, right? The book was very long, it had over a thousand pages. Lily told me that her mum had read the book all the way through twice while at school.

On December the eighteenth all of the students going home for holiday were led to the Hogsmeade station where the Hogwarts express would take us to London. Fred, Lily, Courtney and I settled in to a compartment. Lily and I sat on one side and Fred and Courtney sat across from us. He told us he needed to talk with us and it was important. I said, 'Are we in a life or death situation?' jokingly. He nodded and said we actually kind of were. "Well, I was wandering the halls trying to find you guys the other day and I stumbled across this room. I went inside and there were all these different items all over. Then I came across a glass case that had inside of it, and you're never going to believe it, the necklace in it." Lily looked skeptical, "I thought you just said a week ago that all of that was a load of rubbish." He hesitated, "Well I did until… I saw it for myself." I straightened up and considered this for a second. Then it hit me. "The Necklace of Destiny is in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts?" He nods and I close my eyes. How could it actually be at Hogwarts? Who brought it here? Why did they do so? We had Chocolate Frogs, Every flavor Beans and Licorice wands on the train. I got Uncle Harry's card (he isn't my real uncle like Fred's dad is but I call him that anyway). It said he was famous for defeating a bad wizard called Voldemort in 1981 way before I was born. Hours later the train stopped and everyone was there to greet us. As it turns out, my mum and dad were staying with us at Lily's house. As we drove the tension from the train ride was pushed out of my mind completely.

**Chapter 12- Merry Christmas! Lily POV**

We reached my house from King's Cross in fifteen minutes. We lived in London due to Dad's job for the Ministry as an Auror. Mum worked for the Ministry as well but she was head of the Magical Law department. I wanted to work for Gringotts when I'm old enough to. I love money and you get to see interesting places. Sal had said that she wanted to be an author of magical books once she graduated. I could see her writing books like our textbooks and such. We were now pulled up in front of my house. It was three stories and an off white color. Our garage was a two car one. Mum and Dad both had Muggle cars just in case. They were good drivers because they had both grown up with Muggles. We walked in to my house and I showed Sal and Courtney my room. My room was the second door on the left. I had posters of my favorite bands on the walls. I had a desk with a computer on it by my window. My bed was centered and the pull out bed was already out. Thank you Mum! She had also made another pull out bed for Courtney. We had two guest rooms and Fred was going to be sleeping in the one across from my room.

We spent the days practicing flying on brooms my family had and we showed our parents what we'd learned so far. They were very impressed and Dad told us stories about his and Mum's time at Hogwarts with Fred's dad. Mum baked homemade pumpkin pasties and we all would sit around the fireplace and enjoy conversation. Then us kids would head to the game room and play wizard's chess. I was crushed by Fred but I beat Courtney. I took more pictures and videos of us. At what time may have midnight, we went to get changed for bed. Once in bed, we'd talk and laugh until we couldn't say another word due to fatigue and we'd drift to sleep. This went on for a week and there days until the date was the twenty fourth, Christmas Eve. After dinner we gathered in the living room to open the one present. The order was youngest to oldest so Sal went first since her birthday was in November. Then I'd go because mine was in August, then Courtney who was in June, and Fred who was in April. I opened a present from Fred's parents and found a nice sweater knitted with an L on it for Lily. I thanked them and draped the sweater over my arm. Fred got a pack of Instant Darkness Powder from his uncles and Sal got a wrist cuff with Slytherin's mark. Courtney got some nice dangly earrings. Afterwards we headed to the game room while the adults talked. We were all wide awake and sleep was going to be impossible tonight. We all decided to sleep in the game room so we could all go and get up our parents together. I have no idea what time it was once my eyes closed and I sank into a state of rest,

My eyes snapped open to the light of the sunrise on Christmas morning. Sal was up too and we got Fred and Courtney up so we could go and get our parents. Once everyone was downstairs we were told which couch had our presents on it. Mine were on the center couch. I opened a package that had a silver cloak in it. I tried on the cloak and looked down to not see my body. No way! This was Dad's cloak! I folded it back and read the note in the box

Lily Jane Potter, I received this as a gift for Christmas at your age. It has been very useful over the years and I believe that it is time it is passed to you. Use it well. Was Dad serious? The Invisibility cloak? Oh I have no words to explain how happy I am. This is an unexpected dream come true! I was over every moon there was now. Mum wanted a picture of me holding my new cloak and I got my friends in the picture too. Lunch was a feast of turkey and everything else. I had three helpings! For desert Mum had made apple pasties and I had one of those. It snowed outside our windows all morning and in the afternoon we went out and played in it. Fred smacked me in the back of the head with a snowball and Sal avenged me by throwing one that hit him in the face. We laughed and laughed as we went inside to dry off and warm up with more pasties and hot chocolate. I put some tiny marshmallows in my mug.

I was very sad but also excited when on January fifth we went to board the school train again. I'd had too much fun with all my friends and family. I'd enjoyed throwing snowballs and mugs of coca but it was now time to return to my school year paradise!

**Chapter 13-Third Go At It. Fred POV**

Oh hey there! You're still reading this? I applaud you. Did you ever get to check out my uncles' shop? Cool, eh? We are now at Hogwarts for third term. We got in very late last night. I think it was eleven fifty five when I dropped on to my bed in Gryffindor tower. I'd forgotten how much I'd missed this place in two weeks. Henry and Luke welcomed me back. We exchanged stories until we couldn't talk any longer and I was out cold in seconds.

The next day was hard only because I was fresh from an awesome vacation. I was called on in History of Magic and guess what? I got it right, boo yeah! I personally dislike history, it's so boring. People drone on and on of wars from the 1200s. Big whoop. Luke and Henry and I sit across the room from Sal and company. We make faces at them sometimes while doing quill work. The cough to hide giggles and it's actually hilarious. Today we were discussing Goblin rebellions. All right, who made this rubbish up? I'm going to hex them a few times, I am. At last it was time for lunch and I dragged my body to my House's table. Today was bright; all traces of the snow were washed away now. The leaves were re appearing on the forest trees… wait- why am I speaking of the weather? Curse you, magical history, why must you be so dull. Sal winked at me as we walked out of the classroom. I smiled at her as we walked to the Hall. I yearned to touch her hand, just for a second. I curled my fingers into a fist to keep my hand at my side. The effort was hurting my fingers. Sal sat down at the Ravenclaw table and I stood by her table before walking off to sit at my table.

I banged my head on the table reputedly and wouldn't stop. Sal's hand looked so soft with her red painted fingernails. Lily had probably painted them for her. Her face looked so warm with the slight blush of pink on her cheeks (all natural of course). Her midnight hair was braided into a pretty French style. I closed my eyes and saw her face. All right internal voice, shut up for the love of Merlin! I mean, why me? This is supposed to happen LATER not now. Ugh, I need to play Quidditch now. I checked my time table and I had the afternoon off, due to it being Friday. I rose and ran to my dorm. I grabbed my Quidditch uniform and headed to the changing rooms. I, like my uncle Harry, have made the team in first year. Well, that's my story for now, so I'll catch you later!

**Chapter 14- Confusion Sal POV**

I'm going insane. I really don't get it. Fred was looking at me in a way. There was something in his eyes, but what was in his eyes? I look over and see him rise from his spot and leave the hall. What the heck? I shrug it off. Maybe he has some homework to do. Lily was doodling on a piece of parchment. Her drawing looked as if it was supposed to be the latest broom, the Nimbus lightning bolt. I liked that broom a lot. It must be pretty dang fast.

My peeps and I got up from the table to go sit in the library and read. We sat in comfy looking armchairs and had our books on the table. I was looking at a book full of pictures of magical items and then a particular item caught my eye. I stared at the photo intently, lost in my thoughts. I read the caption to the picture; _to cheat death, one must wear it at all times. This old masterpiece with its gold chain and garnet stone it will energize every bone for as long as it is worn. _

Mother of Merlin! That's it, the Necklace of Destiny. That was here, in the Room at the school. Fred wasn't kidding. My breathing quickened and I traced the picture. This was it. Now, why was it here? Surely it could've been stored in a vault, locked up. No being should have that power. When your essence fades, it's gone forever. I knew that. I've got to decode this. There's something more to this that it seems.

I slammed the book shut and ran as fast as I could to the huge yard where students lounged on nice days. Fred where are you? Merlin, this is important. I streaked through the grass like the gliding wind. At a point, I tripped over a branch. I righted myself and kept going. I at last found him sitting under a tree, toying with a leaf.

"FRED! I have something to tell you!" He looked puzzled, and then his face lit up with excitement. Wait, what was he thinking I was going to say? I popped onto the grass and he stared at me waiting for me to say something. I took a deep breath and said, "It's here! The necklace is. We have to go and destroy it."

"Are you barking mad? There is no way we'll be able to get it without getting caught. The teachers will destroy it. We're only first years after all." She stared at me with those hard brown eyes that now flickered with determination. "Uncle Harry your dad and Aunt Hermione saved the Stone at our age, so why can't we destroy the Necklace?" He nodded, "You've got a point. Let's all go, tonight." I nodded and went to go retrieve Lily.

**Chapter 15- The Door's opened. Lily POV**

I was jerked out of reading by Sal running through the door screaming, "Lily! Lily, come on!" I looked up at her. There was excitement in her eyes and something else; fear. I asked her what was up and she said she'd explain everything on the way. She pulled me by the hand to the Gryffindor Tower entrance. "All right, what the devil's up?' She explained about the necklace and its picture in the book. I was frozen dead. So people weren't kidding. It is real. At that moment, Fred came out of the portrait hole and we all broke into a run to find the Room. Fred leads the way since he'd been there before.

At last, we all stopped, panting in front of a wall. The door appeared and Fred led the way. I stepped in cautiously and looked around me. The room was like a long hall with a door at the end dead ahead. We all took hands in order to enter the next door together. Sal stepped forward and opened the first door. We took hands once again and stepped in a dark room. I heard the door to this room shut loudly and my breathing quickened.

I felt movement around me and heard little annoying sounds. The sounds reminded me of Bludgers in a Quidditch match. Wait- _oh_! The mini Bludgers zipped past my head and came around again for another pass. I ducked just in time, avoiding being sent backwards through the room. I kept barely dodging them. Fred now had the Beater's bat and was swinging the Bludgers away. They screeched as the bat hit and seemed to destroy them. It was an awful sound. Fred kept whacking them back and more 'died'. When no more Bludgers were in sight, we all found one another and went forward to the next door. I opened the next door, bracing myself for the worst. The next room was blinding with brightness and it seemed that large puzzle pieces were on the floor. Oh, I see. Solve the puzzle to gain passage. We worked quietly and quickly to put the giant pieces together. It took us a few tries to get a few done. A while later we had the puzzle done, we rode on it like a magic carpet. It dropped us off in the final chamber, which at the end of the room had a glass case against a wall.

**Chapter 16- The Final Challenge Fred POV**

There it was against the wall. I stepped towards it to take it from the case and destroy it. The case on the other hand had a different agenda. It began to shoot laser beam like light at me. I pulled out my wand screaming, 'PROTEGO!" at the top of my lungs to shield me. Lily and Sal watched extreme fear on their faces. Not fear for their lives but fear for mine. If I was to die here, so be it.

I kept holding on, getting exhausted. But somehow through the darkness that seemed to lie ahead, Sal lit the way. She was the reason I was still hanging on and didn't black out. I accept that she likes me as a brother, but I can live with it just as long as she gets out unharmed it would be fine. We all would be back soon and all free from this madness. Yes, that was motivation. I kept shielding myself, strengthened by the memory. I was so busy that I never saw Sal come to assist me.

***Sal POV***

I stepped forward to assist Fred in fighting for his life and ours. I pulled out my wand and began yelling "Protego! Protego Maxima!" as loud as I could manage over Fred's voice and the beams being bounced off our wands. I looked back at Lily, who was guarding the door to make sure no beam got out with her own wand in hand.

I turned back and ran forward still screaming Shield Charms as I got closer. I smashed the glass with my wand and dodged more. There was a fang that seemed to belong to a giant snake next to the necklace. I can try. I gripped the long part of the fang, raised it over my head and stabbed the garnet stone in the middle. I did that again and this time I had my wand in the other hand shielding myself from beams. I heard Lily scream, "Sal, I'll hold the beams with Fred while you destroy it, ok?" I yelled my approval back at her and concentrated further. I stabbed it again and heard an explosion. I looked around me and the necklace was gone. Just then a reflected beam hit me square in the stomach. I felt searing, hot pain as it hit me. I heard screams of "Sal! No!" as I slipped into the black water. The room came out of focus as the image of the black water in my mind came closer. I've had a good life and I'll miss it. After that I remember nothing.

**Chapter 17- Awaken. Lily POV**

I looked at my best friend's unmoving form to the empty and smashed case. It was gone forever. The battle was over. We might have lost Sal. I walked forward stepping carefully over the glass that had shattered to the floor. I cleared the glass away with my wand. I knelt by Sal's crumpled body and looked at her and cried. After all this, was it worth what we had accomplished? Not really since I'd lost my best friend. I placed my hand on her heart and- Mother of Merlin, she's ALIVE! She's just knocked out!

"FRED SHE'S ALIVE! Get over here!" I called to him. He came to kneel beside me and looked at her. He apparently had seen her stomach rise with breath. He turned to me, "I can carry her to the Hospital Wing if you'll just open doors for me." I nodded as we passed through chambers with me holding the doors and Fred carrying Sal. He didn't seem to be staggering with her weight; instead he made it look effortless.

We reached the wing, handed Sal to Madam Pomfrey and left to change our clothes before visiting her later. I entered my dorm, changed and told Courtney everything. She and I ran to Gryffindor Tower together and an odd sense of déjà vu hit me. I'd done the same with Sal mere hours ago. We all bolted for the hospital wing after we got Fred. When we arrived, we found Sal asleep in a bed by the window. Her face looked triumphant in her sleep. I wonder if she knew she'd destroyed the necklace. I held her right hand in mine as she slept. We all sat here for a seemingly long time until Sal's eyes fluttered open.

"Hey!" I say cheerfully as she sits up and adjusts her eyes to the light. She had her eyes fully open now. She looked around and yawned. "We did it. I knew we could." Fred sat on her other side and told her," That should be two hundred points to Ravenclaw." She smiles, "And four hundred to Gryffindor for outstanding bravery and the best Shield charm I've seen." We all nodded in agreement. A person came in the wing now. It was Claire, a Hufflepuff friend of ours. She carried a box of sweets in her arms and handed it to Sal. "For you since you saved Hogwarts!" Sal smiled sweetly at her and said, "Thanks Claire!" Claire left us and we all began to eat. Madam Pomfrey came in the, "Miss Riddle you have some other visitors now." Sal nodded and we all left for Sal to be alone with her parents.

**Chapter 18- Goodbye, Hogwarts, for now. Sal POV**

A week later we were transported via carriage to Hogsmeade station to board the train home. It had been a very interesting kick off of my school career, if I must say so. I learned many magical and life lessons along the way. Would you like to hear some? One: true friends stick together; even in the face of adversity. Two: Love is more powerful than any magic. Finally I learned that to the well organized mind, death is but the next greatest adventure. What do you think? I think it's going to be an interesting six years ahead of me. Even through the ups and downs, I have great supporters that always have my back. I looked out the window as the train arrived at King's Cross. It stopped and my best friends, all three of them, and I gathered our things and descended to the platform together.

My parents were so happy to see me. They hugged my friends too and introduced me to Courtney's dad and mum. We all walked out of the barrier together and headed for the cars making summer plans. We swore to write to one another and called goodbye as we drove away. My parents asked me about my year and my dad said, 'I bet you had a wonderful and trying year all at once!"

I smiled at him and said, "if you only knew how true that is.' As we drove into the sunset to the summer and years ahead of us all.


End file.
